ARTICLES ABOUT EXERCISE BY DATE - PAGE 2

The recent Winter Olympics have awakened ski and snowboard dreams in many. If you're preparing your children to learn, several steps can set them up for success. Step No. 1 would be getting them familiar with the type of activity, said Joe Quarantillo, the kids school manager at Copper Mountain Resort in Colorado. “It may or may not be easy, depending on the child. Some are very athletic, some are not. “We find that the more familiar they are with, if it's skiing, being in a large clunky boot, or snowboarding, having both feet connected together and achieving some balance, really helps them out a lot.” To prepare to learn snowboarding, Quarantillo recommended - not surprisingly - skateboarding. “Skateboarding is very good because it teaches you to steer with your feet and the movements are very similar,” he said.

Q : Other than anxiety, what can cause your heart rate to increase when you're not exercising? A : Rather than just listing the causes, here's my approach to investigating a rapid heartbeat. First, I'd like to know if you have any other symptoms. That especially includes chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, and/or feeling faint. Any of these could suggest an abnormal heart rhythm. If you have any of these and a fast heartbeat, you should call your doctor right away. Ideally, I'd want you to check your pulse at the time you feel your heart rate is high.

SEAL Team Six, the U.S. military group credited with taking down Osama bin Laden in 2011, could have Fort Lauderdale next in its sights. A proposed operation in the city - involving hovering combat helicopters, exploding flash-bang devices and the sounds of gunfire - is in the works. "This is actually really cool," Mayor Jack Seiler said of an agreement to allow the team to conduct a future training exercise in the city. Officials have approved a one-time deal with the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, aka SEAL Team Six, to use an abandoned city-owned building for up to three days of military training.

Older adults who received as few as 10 sessions of mental training show long-lasting improvements in reasoning and speed of processing skills 10 years after the intervention, according to UF Health researchers with the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly, or ACTIVE, study. The study findings appear in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society . "Our prior research suggested that the benefits of the training could last up to five years, or even seven years, but no one had ever reported 10-year maintenance in mental training in older adults," said ACTIVE researcher Michael Marsiske, Ph.D., an associate professor of clinical and health psychology at the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions.

Can't muster the motivation to get up off the couch and exercise? Try "couchersizing" — staying on or near your couch and exercising during commercial breaks. "A growing body of literature connects the amount of time you spend sitting to illness and even death. Minimizing long periods of inactivity, like exercising during commercial breaks, can help reduce the risk of injury and may even help you live longer," says Kailin Collins, a physical therapist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass.

Who : Alyette Keldie, 36, of Fort Lauderdale, was recently appointed group exercise manager for YouFit Health Clubs, companywide, from 24 Hour Fitness (Florida) as area group exercise manager. How is this position important to the overall organization ? I will be developing and implementing group exercise programming to further engage and add value to our membership. Resume Experience : Owned my own business: Academy of Dance, Music and Theatre; and worked as a health and wellness director at a YMCA Education : Florida Atlantic University: Psychology Major, Business Law Minor On the job Why the move : For the opportunity to work with a dynamic team and for a very successful fitness entrepreneur in a newly created position, and to further my career and utilize more of my skillset.

Whether you've been exercising for years or are just starting a fitness program, it's important to avoid injuries so you can keep moving toward your fitness goals. We become more vulnerable to injuries as we get older, in part because we're less agile than we used to be, and we've also lost some of our former bone and muscle mass. "Recovery from injury can also slow with age," says Dr. Eric Berkson, an instructor in orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School and director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Sports Performance Center.

Fitness buffs at Hollywood's Topeekeegee Yugnee Park in Hollywood now have a new workout option in addition to walking, biking and jogging. Officials with Memorial Healthcare System and Broward County Parks and Recreation Division unveiled a set of outdoor fitness equipment that will be part of the regional park's two-mile walking trail. The trail already attracts hundreds of adults and children every day. The "Memorial Fitness Zone" features close to a dozen pieces of sturdy exercise equipment on concrete pads, including wheelchair-accessible units.

By Jill Weisenberger, M.S., R.D.N., C.D.E., Environmental Nutrition Newsletter Just as a healthy diet can help fend off chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes, what you eat also can help you keep your mental edge as you age. Approximately five million Americans over age 65 have Alzheimer's disease, a progressive disease that destroys brain cells and the most common form of dementia. Second to Alzheimer's disease is vascular dementia, which occurs when the blood vessels of the brain become damaged and prevent adequate blood supply to parts of the brain.

Florida Atlantic University's Caring Hearts Auxiliary of the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center will host the eighth annual "Keep Memories Alive - Exercise Your Mind" walk Nov. 3 at 9 a.m., at the Town Center at Boca Raton , 6000 Glades Road, Boca Raton . The presenting sponsor will be Bobby Campbell, chairman and CEO of BBC International. "The hard work of our Caring Hearts Auxiliary enables the center to continue state of the art, evidence-based programs and services that are so important to families living with memory disorders," said Dr. María Ordóñez, interim director of the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center.